Mr Nichols & Mr Gannon
by Fever Dreamer
Summary: Kent Gannon was a small man in Kronos, just a first division internal affairs. He knew nothing about the affairs of Kronos. When he put a higher up man up for inspection he made a bad enemy. And in an act of vengeance he was sent to a dangerous outpost
1. Default Chapter

Data File One: See the World  
  
The waterfall was rushing down, orchestrating its beautiful backbeat. It was a massive fall, at least forty feet wide and maybe eighty to a hundred feet down. The sound was the sound of a perpetual rain of over several million gallons of water a second. Thudding into a modest pool that pushes out into a thin river to the east of the fall. The waterfall created periodical gusts of cold air and a nice even mist.  
  
Kent Gannon was standing, in all his splendor, on an overhand behind the falls. It was a public park but he dared to bet none of the public was where he was. He watched the endless supply of water tumble and spill downward. If he wanted to see illegal turbines powering a company base, hidden inside caves, under the waterfall he need only lean forward and look up.  
  
Gannon shivered and pulled his white company coat up over his shoulders. Gannon was a tall muscular fellow. He had carrot red hair, and pale white skin. He was wearing a thin tank top with his thick company coat hanging over it. He was wearing navy blue casual slacks. His right ear was pierced with a modest little metal dot of an earring. It was the insignia for the company (A 'K' over the face of a clock.). Anybody who knew what the insignia stood for was his business. He was sort of the internal affairs. With the business the company was in to, you had to be sure everybody was on the level, even upper management.  
  
"Cold, Mr. Gannon?"  
  
Gannon turned to the man who had addressed him.  
  
He was tall with dark black hair down to the base of his neck. He had a pin sharp nose and brown to black eyes. He had on a dark purple company uniform.  
  
'The Uniform' thought Gannon in disgust.  
  
"Not at all, Mr. Nichols. I'm quite comfortable with lower temperatures."  
  
Richard Nichols' corners of his mouth turned up with a weak smile. "How very convenient, Mr. Gannon. Because you know, you'll need that resilient behavior."  
  
Richard pulled out of his uniform pocket a folded up paper and a micro recorder and handed it to him. "A slight relocation you know."  
  
Gannon unfolded the paper and carefully read line to line of company talk and then folded the paper back up.  
  
Gannon felt the sudden urge to throw both Richard and piece of paper off the side of the fall.  
  
"Why would they need anyone in such a Godforsaken piece of land?" Richard shook his head. "That's not the issue. They don't need anyone. They need you, Mr. Gannon. They needed some sort of liaison with the main branch, someone who can reports steps or missteps and make suggestions and orders." He smiled cruelly. "I'm sure even you can handle that Mr. Gannon."  
  
Kent felt his temperature raise and his blood pressure rise. He clenched his fist and pounded it into the rock side of the fall.  
  
Richard's smile was still hanging off his face, but even wider. "I see you should have some time to yourself, Mr. Gannon. That paper holds you airline tickets. Enjoy, Mr. Gannon."  
  
Nichols turned about and marched back into the company base.  
  
Gannon looked at his fist. The thin covering of skin had been ground off his knuckles, and they were beginning to bleed. He stuck his fist out into the fall and walked back out to the parking lot.  
  
'Damn Nichols! He enjoyed every bit of that. And damn the company!'  
  
Gannon's eyes wandered from car to car in the lot. His eyes rested on a hunter green Lamborghini. He pulled his keys out and pressed down on the button. The doors unlocked and it sped to the sidewalk nearest Gannon. He pulled the door up and slid inside the driver's side seat.  
  
He started in the direction of the airport, to take the flights to Antarctica.  
  
  
  
Gannon rested back in the comfortable airplane seat; the airplane was barely full. There were three to four seats he could see that were vacant and God knows how many there were in the back. Couldn't blame anyone, who would want to go north when it was winter?  
  
Gannon pulled out the Micro Recorder. It was more company instructions.  
  
Gannon clicked the Micro Recorder on and Mr. Nichols' sick voice came pouring out.  
  
"In the Antarctic company outpost you'll find a number of characters to deal with. The resident physician is Dr. Harry Landis. Medical college graduate. Liola University. Was Highly Recommended and is here as a paid hand. Dr. Jason Yonts. Noted Geologist. Many pole assignments and achievements. Loves Antarctica and is there by request. David Zimmerman. Self-Made Man. Biologist Legend. Invented the DSL, DNA Signature Library. Database for identifying unique differences in animal DNA. We were lucky to get this one Mr. Gannon. He's the diamond in the rough, his demands are law. Calvin Bartlett. Widely published fiction author. Is helping as a helicopter pilot. He is here on persistent requests. Quite the trophy layman. Zachary Kraid. Our Geneticist. Not exactly the company's ideal man for the job but he is of utmost importance to this project. Kris Landen. Archaeologist extraordinaire. Has a more than impressive record. Easy to work with, and quite the brains of the outfit. Mr. Gannon, Please take care of these Personnel. They were hand picked and assembled by the company. Do not let them to succumb to cabin fever, or some other unfortunate crisis. Please keep your past duties in mind, if any discrepancies are found to be linked to these you are to report them, be it Mr. Bartlett or Mr. Zimmerman." 


	2. Data File Two

Data File Two: The Frozen Mercury Zone  
  
The Antarctic outpost was quietly being pelted with snow. The winds were down as Calvin Bartlett was no doubt thankful.  
  
"So you're the new head of state for Antarctica? Welcome to the Frozen Mercury Zone."  
  
'Author alright' thought Gannon. 'He can't shut his mouth and tries to be clever.'  
  
"No kidding. " Gannon felt the Helicopter land. It felt like Bartlett flew the thing into the ground.  
  
Bartlett swiveled back so he could Gannon. He studied him for a second or two and then offered his name.  
  
"Name is Calvin Bartlett, most people in this place call me Bart. You are?"  
  
Gannon sneered at having to introduce himself. Bartlett knew very damn well who he was.  
  
"Kent Gannon, Representative for the company."  
  
Bartlett held his gloved hand out past backseat of the Helicopter. Kent, reluctantly, reached for his hand, but Bartlett pulled it back and exited the Helicopter laughing to himself.  
  
Gannon's eyes narrowed. "Oh, just great! Sonofabitch."  
  
Gannon opened the door and slammed it shut. Somehow it managed to be colder than he expected. He couldn't see anything save for small-lighted poles. Each one was tied to a tug line.  
  
He quickly shuffled himself towards the biggest building connected to the tug line. His clothes were nowhere near adequate for the Antarctic weather.  
  
'A scorching hot bath and tons and tons of heating blankets.' He thought wishfully.  
  
The building was up on concrete supports with a tall flight of stairs. He quickly opened the door and pulled himself in. He flicked the lights on and-  
  
"SURPRISE!"  
  
'oh my god.'  
  
The place had an interior like some mountain cabin, it was beautiful, but the problem was that it was littered with Pizza boxes, streamers, glitter, and people in party hats. It was like he was someone else that had totally forgot his own birthday.  
  
A huge banner tacked to the ceiling said 'Welcome' in big red letters. 'These are adults!' he reminded himself.  
  
A pudgy fellow with a thick beard, glasses, and a John Deere hat came and shook his hand, nearly breaking it in half.  
  
"David Zimmerman, So glad you're here, Mr. Gannon!"  
  
Gannon's PR smile flickered on his face as long as he could hold it.  
  
Another man shoved Zimmerman aside and choked his hand. He was a scrawny little guy with carrot red hair and thick coke bottle glasses.  
  
He had a lab coat thrown over a ripped Tee shirt and a beer clutched in his left hand. He had a funny little grin on his face.  
  
"Zachary Kraid, Mr. Gannon. Good to see a sane man again."  
  
"I'll bet." Gannon added under his breath.  
  
Zachary quietly stepped aside and then Gannon saw it.  
  
'oh god!'  
  
Behind Zachary was a nut puppy decked out with fake vampire teeth a Mickey Mouse hat with a Geordie Leforge visor.  
  
"Live long and prosper, Mr. Romeo! Yonts, Jason Yonts."  
  
'That fruitcake is Jason Yonts!'  
  
He ran up to Gannon and bear hugged him. He pulled the Mickey Mouse hat off and tossed it aside with the visor. He was completely bald. He had round gray eyes with a small piggish nose. He was wearing a flannel plaid shirt with jean overalls.  
  
He kissed Gannon on his right cheek then on his left cheek and then sat down. That strange experience left one unnamed man leaning against the wall. He was shaking his head to himself, and looked terribly embarrassed. As Gannon thought was appropriate.  
  
He had a thick head of short gray hair; he was very tall and lanky. He looked like the only person in the room with a sensible appearance. He was wearing a respectable black button up shirt, with Khaki slacks, and shiny leather shoes. He walked up to Gannon and held out his hand.  
  
Gannon quickly checked for a gag buzzer, and then grasped it passionately, as if he were the last sane man on earth.  
  
"I'm sorry to have to welcome you this way, Mr. Gannon. I don't want to point fingers, but it was Mr. Yonts who orchestrated this little party. My name is Doctor Harry Landis. These are my colleagues. I was in charge because I was the only-"  
  
"Sober." Cut in Jason.  
  
Landis was glaring at Jason Yonts with his right eyebrow raised almost to the roof of his forehead. "Sane! Person in the camp. Although Mr. Zimmerman qualifies he wouldn't have it."  
  
Yonts slammed his beer to the coffee table. "What about, Princess?"  
  
'Princess?'  
  
Landis' lip twitched like he was having some sort of psychotic episode. "Yeah, she's coming. KRIS!"  
  
His glance wondered from door to door until he saw her.  
  
Gannon was absolutely speechless. She had her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail that slumped down her back. She had on a red dress that sparkled as she walked. She had a dark complexion, which can't be natural in Antarctica. She looked almost Hispanic.  
  
'Kris Landen is woman!!'  
  
"Who's the pimp?" She said in a beautiful clear voice. Obviously hinting to his clothes.  
  
Gannon had lost his composure and stopped time long enough to pick the pieces back up and put them together. He rebounded with a toothy grin.  
  
"Kent Gannon, Miss Landen. And actually I'm from the Kentucky division." Her eyebrows raised.  
  
"Oh, a hick pimp!"  
  
She herself, looked like someone in desperate need of hooking up with a Southside LA pimp. Not like an acclaimed archaeologist. None of them matched they're titles.  
  
'all oddballs'  
  
"Sit down, Kent, and have a beer." Offered Bart.  
  
Gannon snapped out of his thought phase. "Actually, I brought some medicine of my own." He pulled out of his deep- pocketed company coat, a bottle of 'Grand Marnier' brandy.  
  
Dr. Landis shuddered and walked off as if he were being betrayed. "I'm going to bed" he said to himself.  
  
Kris stamped her foot. "And I thought you were happy to see me."  
  
Yonts nearly choked on his beer. "Honey, we are all happy to see you. Some people you just can't tell."  
  
Zachary smacked his lips slow and obvious.  
  
Ignoring Yont's disgusting remarks, Gannon held the bottle up. "For all who have glasses."  
  
For some reason the appearance of Kris Landen, had opened him up a little to the group.  
  
Zachary, Jason, and Bart all held up glasses. Gannon filled them all and stole one of his own and filled it. He sat down on what felt like a collapsing chair.  
  
Jason downed half of his glass with one gulp. He made growling noise and shook his head violently.  
  
"Damn, French drinks." He muttered to himself.  
  
Gannon pointed his glass at him. "Watch that stuff or you'll be spending your next three hours with your head in a toilet."  
  
"Yeah." He said still shaking the drink off. "So how's it like down in KY?'"  
  
Gannon took a sip and allowed for it to settle.  
  
"Warm."  
  
Zachary laughed. "No shit? What's that like?" He asked  
  
"Who needs warmth?" Piped up Kris in her nearly Hispanic accent.  
  
"Well it sure as hell wouldn't hurt you any." Laughed Jason.  
  
The gaggle of men 'ooh' at the remark.  
  
Kris laughed in spite of herself.  
  
Zimmerman who had been quietly observing Gannon for the moment got up. "Ladies and Gentlemen I'm going to bed. The best of luck to you Kent. We'll start to work tomorrow. Jason, Zachary, Bart, Kris, good night." Zimmerman crawled himself out the big front door and shut it behind him.  
  
"Gods, I hate it when someone does that." Said Zachary.  
  
Gannon had to admit the cold burst from the open door was annoying. He tried to ward it off with a deep sip of his brandy.  
  
"That brings up a question." Started Jason. "Where's Kent gonna sleep?"  
  
Zachary rubbed his chin for a while. "Well, his room is still 'under construction. So I guess he'll have to bunk in with one of us."  
  
"He can bunk in with me." Offered Kris.  
  
"Oohh" cooed in Zachary and Jason.  
  
Gannon nodded to himself. "Couch sounds fine to me."  
  
He got a general laugh out of everyone except Kris who was smiling slyly. She shook her finger. "I did not mention a couch."  
  
Yonts stretched and rose up from the couch. "Sounds like you've got a deal going for you, Kent. It's too damn late I'm going to bed. Thanks for the juice, Kent. Good night all." They all waved him off to bed and he put his coat on and opened the door sending yet another cold burst into the room.  
  
Zachary downed the last gulp of brandy in his glass. He let it settle and got up. "Thanks for the drink, Kent." He plopped his hand down on Kent's shoulder. "It'll be good to have some direction and order to this mess."  
  
"No problem, good to have met you." Kent replied, half asleep.  
  
Zachary went down the hall to where he was no doubt sleeping. That left Kris and Kent alone. She was not looking at him the way she was when the room was full of people. She was looking at him as if he was something repulsive. "Come with me, I'll show you where you'll sleep."  
  
He followed her to the door. She flung it open and walked out leaving the door open. The wind was really whipping now. Stinging his face with small crystals of snow.  
  
He followed her down the flight of stairs and stepped down in snow just shy of knee-deep.  
  
"You're not from Kronos are you?" She shouted over the wind.  
  
Gannon felt something inside of him smile sadistically. "What do you mean 'from'?"  
  
"I mean, 'of'"  
  
This caught him off guard. "What?" He shouted back.  
  
He was waiting for a reply, but looked up and saw that they were at her place. She opened the door for him and she walked in afterwards and slammed the door shut.  
  
The place was warm. She had a mock fireplace in front of the bed. She had several heaters blowing constantly on the bed and near the door. He was inspecting the room and didn't see her grab the gun.  
  
'Pretty classy for Antarct-'  
  
She grabbed a handful of the back of his coat and shoved him on the bed. She cocked the handgun and held it to his head.  
  
"Whoa WHOA! Stop!"  
  
"Shut up cowboy, or I'll empty the magazine in your head. I meant, are you one of those, things?"  
  
'Things? The hell?'  
  
"Things? THINGS? What the hell are you talking about? Let me up!!"  
  
She felt her finger tighten it's grip on the trigger, and then loosen. She tossed the gun aside.  
  
"You're not, are you?"  
  
"Lady, I have no clue what the hell you're talking about. God honest truth." She seemed kind of embarrassed, which Gannon couldn't help think was appropriate.  
  
'They are all nuts!'  
  
"You work with Kronos, right?"  
  
'and?' he thought "Yeah, so do you!"  
  
She shook her head. He could see tears welling up in her eyes. "I didn't know it. That's what happened last time the company sent someone. Only Zachary and myself were on the staff. Zachary made a decision that the commander disagreed with, everyone was already kind of tense. The commander changed into this thing with fur, ears, and claws."  
  
Gannon felt suddenly very uncomfortable he got off the bed and began edging for the door.  
  
She grabbed the gun and held it erect at his head. "You are staying here! I won't wait ten, twelve days and find out I was wrong."  
  
He sighed and looked at her. 'No I won't stand this. I was supposed to be in charge here; that was supposed to be the LEAST that would happen. Sure I had to go to the edge of the world, freeze my ass off, and control a bunch of notebook nerds, BUT I was supposed to be in control!  
  
"Great, just fuckin typical! And how am I supposed to prove to you I'm not a werewolf?! Stick myself with a silver pin? Transform? Well, I guess I'm screwed!"  
  
She started sobbing but kept the gun dead on target.  
  
'Damnit! Of all the things that could-!' "Alright, alright, hey, don't cry. Look, I'm not a monster! Okay, I'm touchy, mean, stubborn, obstinate, but not inhuman. I'll do whatever you ask to prove it."  
  
Gannon was getting desperate. The company wasn't guilty of having monster commanders, but they were guilty of sticking him here in this hole of insane venomous people.  
  
She stopped crying and uncocked the gun and sat it on the bedside table. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I just-"  
  
"It's quite alright. I'm just a little upset. This is my first real assignment as an outpost commander." Gannon, in a gesture of good will, sat next to her on the bed and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Is it possible that perhaps you imagined this?"  
  
She shook her head violently.  
  
"No! No. Zachary and I saw it together. Zachary killed it and reported to the company that the commander got lost in a storm and died of hypothermia."  
  
Gannon was becoming more and more sure that he had fallen victim to a drug addict who caught a bad batch of something nasty.  
  
"Then why didn't Zachary approach me and ask me, why did he leave this up to you?"  
  
"He. Last. He couldn't do it. After we killed him, the commander disintegrated, I think part of Zachary disintegrated too. He won't trust anyone. He keeps in his lab coat pocket a 1938 Beretta .380 caliper loaded with two hollow points. You try an jump up on him you'll get your head blown off. He wouldn't approach you, he'd wait for you to approach him."  
  
'God she's a loon!'  
  
"Is anyone else in the camp a monster?"  
  
She scowled at him and threw his arm of her shoulder. "Don't you patronize me! Don't you dare!"  
  
He held up his arms innocently. "I only asked!"  
  
"No. If you're not one, none of these men are. Except-"  
  
Gannon had to feign interest, if not for anything else just to keep his head. "Who?"  
  
"Bartlett."  
  
Gannon knew it now. She was mad. "The writer?"  
  
"Yeah, that's what the company tells you, but have you ever heard of a Bartlett book?"  
  
"Maybe he writes under an alias or a pen name, writers do that."  
  
"Oh no I looked it up on our computer he has a lot of books out books like 'Strange Situations' 'Cadaver Gambit' and a few others."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And, you can't purchase any of them online. And there's only ten sites with his name in proper context. I checked the ISPs of all the sites, they were in different places, yes, but each site was located in the same city with a major Kronos headquarters."  
  
Gannon felt himself enraged, but swallowed it. 'This is definitely a basis for report, but what the hell would I tell them.' "You have to admit that it could be a fluke."  
  
"And you have to admit it's an extraordinary coincidence."  
  
Gannon could force himself to reply no longer; he could only nod. He had to change the subject, or he'd snap and she'd shoot him. "What about you how come you're a archaeologist that knows so much about guns, books, and ISPs?"  
  
Her eyes narrowed. "I like to have a broad range. What about you! Lets turn the firing squad around. What does a nobody hill hick Kronos lap dog doing in Antarctica?"  
  
That did it. "Who the hell are you to judge me? I'm loyal to the company, yes, but you know nothing about me at all, are you so eager to alienate me?"  
  
Her eyes dropped. "I'm sorry. You'll see what I mean tomorrow. Go to sleep."  
  
Gannon scooted over to a side of the bed readily fell asleep, but Kris stayed awake her eye always on Kent and the gun. 


	3. Data File Three

Data File Three: Requiem Test  
  
Gannon woke suddenly and abruptly as the door to the small complex was opened and a mixture of light and freezing cold entered and shook him awake.  
  
He brushed the covers of the bed off and swung his legs to the left side. He felt his chin it had a slight layer of facial hair, but he was too cold to shave. He heaved himself off the bed and ambled over to the side of the door. He pushed his feet down in his boots and threw the door open. Biting cold and bright light hit him. He stepped out into the snow which was still knee deep and then realized he had no clue where he was supposed to go. He saw the building he first came to, way up on the concrete supports. He climbed the flights of stairs and shoved it open. It was empty, but littered with the remains of last night's party. He heard something stirring further down the hall passed the room with the confetti and streamers.  
  
Gannon forced himself to walk down and see what it was. It was Zachary Kraid fixing himself sandwich in what appeared to be a kitchen area.  
  
"Hey Zachary."  
Zachary turned around like someone had just shot a hole in his hand. He had both a look of wrath, fear, and indignity.  
  
"Oh God Kent, you scared me."  
  
Gannon's eyes were directed to the corner pockets of his lab coat one of which was obviously bulged by a heavy metal object.  
  
"So is this where we eat breakfast?"  
Zachary nodded quickly and moved his sandwich making materials to where he could fix the sandwich and still see Gannon.  
  
Gannon kept his distance, last thing he needed was for Zachary to freak and blow him away with a .380 caliper Beretta.  
  
"Hey Zachary, was there a commander before me?"  
  
Zachary hastened his sandwich making.  
"Course there was."  
  
"What happened to him?"  
  
Zachary stopped what he was doing and looked up at Gannon. He looked like a deer in headlights.  
  
"He froze." Was all he could say. He took his incomplete sandwich and bustled out of the kitchen.  
  
'Kris may have been right... Either that or both Kris and Zachary are nuts. Hah what are the chances? Pretty damn good.'  
  
Gannon took what Zachary left and ate it. He also downed it with some of his 'medicine' he had pulled out of his coat pocket.  
  
'I haft to find someone who knows remotely what I'm suppose to be doing.'  
  
He pulled out of the kitchen only to meet up with Jason.  
  
"Hey Kent, just who I was probably looking for. I want to show you something. It's down in my little playpen so you might want to zip up your coat."  
  
"Alright what is it Yonts?"  
  
Yonts slapped his bald head.  
  
"Yonts? Yonts? What have we gone formal? First name basis please."  
  
Yonts started back down the hall and Gannon was tagging behind once again feigning interest, but for whole different reason.  
  
Gannon laughed, which was undoubtedly Yonts' intention.  
  
"Alright, Jason. Please what is it?"  
  
Yonts hurried his pace and they popped out the door into the freezing cold.  
  
"We had been doing some seismic mapping and satellite pictures of the area when we first got here, which was like eleven years ago. About fifty kilometers out from the base in..." Jason spun in a circle and then stopped and pointed. "In that direction. We found what most people would call interesting. I had been trying for the last eleven years to get someone to authorize a haul. There and back, probably two or so hours. But the last commander was basket case and the doc said it was too dangerous. So you're my third times charm kinda guy."  
  
'Damn! basket case he says.'  
  
"Let me see the mapping."  
  
Jason nodded.  
"Fair enough. This way."  
  
He was heading dead straight for small snow-covered shack.  
  
"Cozy looking, huh? They give Genetics, Biology; hell even Archaeology gets a bigger budget than I do. I got to ask, what the hell is an archaeologist doing in Antarctica? That's like sending a historian into space and say 'write up history'."  
  
'He never really shuts up, does he?'  
  
"This is it, Kent."  
Jason swung the door open and held it open for Gannon. Gannon was immediately welcomed by a blast of warm heat.  
  
'this is nice'  
  
"Like the heat? Heh, the company doesn't know it, but twenty percent of their Geology budget went to heating. Antarctica is wonderful you just got to know how to adjust it to you."  
  
'And he was complaining about budget shorts'  
  
Yonts went off to his desk, which was against the far wall from the door. He shuffled a few papers and motioned Gannon over. He held to the desk a simple map.  
  
"Okay here's the base and here's the area I want to visit. You can see by the scale its exactly fifty kilometers south."  
  
"No flipping way. Deal off."  
  
Yonts riled up for a speech that had obviously been practiced.  
  
"Now you see! Why would you say that?"  
  
"Fifty kilometers, south! You may be one hell of geologist, but you didn't pick up any meteorology. That far south in Antarctica might be a hundred or so below. You'd need masks and suits and balls bigger than church bells."  
  
"Me an Bart got that and more. Please Kent I need this. This will be the one and only contribution the Geology department will have made. It'll prove Geology is worth a bigger budget. I'm begging you."  
  
"Final word on the matter, ready for it? Here it is. No. White outs, Hypothermia lots of lovely things can go wrong and if that happens not only will you not get your budget, but the entire Geology department has to be reworked. You can go over my head and write the main branch and if they say okay... go for it, but if not we'll leave whatever wonderful prize is out there, to the fool who'll risk his life for it."  
  
"But Kent!"  
  
"Let it go, Jason. The word was no."  
  
'begs like a kid.'  
  
"Fine. I'll write the KY branch."  
  
Gannon shrugged and left Jason to his devices.  
  
Dr. Landis was waiting for him outside. He had admiring look on his face.  
  
"I keep changing my mind about you, Kent. I thought you'd go in for it."  
  
Gannon's PR smile flashed on.  
  
"I have more will power than you might think. When my superiors sent me over here, they said to keep safety in priority."  
  
"Good man. Uh. Kris wanted to see you."  
  
Gannon winced.  
'Now to psycho number 3'  
  
"Dr. Landis can I ask you something?"  
  
Landis nodded.  
"Sure, but lets do it in the infirmary where it's warm."  
  
Gannon and Landis walked a few paces from the Yonts' shack and into the infirmary.  
  
"So what's up?"  
  
Gannon scratched his head.  
  
He was kinda of embarrassed to ask, but asked anyway.  
  
"Was the last commander murdered?"  
  
Dr. Landis had a shocked look on his face.  
"No. Who told you that!?"  
  
"What did happen?"  
  
The Doc waved his hands.  
"The stupid git walked south until he died. I examined the body."  
  
Gannon nodded to himself.  
'That makes Kris a liar or a mental case. So it basically doesn't change much.'  
"Okay, Doctor, thank you."  
  
"Hey wait a sec. Who told you that line about him being murdered?"  
  
Gannon smiled.  
"Oh, Just a big rumor going through the company."  
  
Landis nodded, satisfied.  
  
Gannon exited the infirmary.  
  
If he had to guess the Genetics lab was the one in the far corner of the base. He could go bug Zachary past the breaking point for fun. Or he could try and find Kris. One was about as fun as the other. He had choice between the .380 caliper or whatever nasty piece Kris was wielding last night.  
  
He chose Kris. He entered the nearest building, which said Archaeology on the door.  
  
Kris was bent over a desk studying what looked like to be runes.  
  
"Hey Kris you wanted to see me?"  
  
She turned around and she looked like she had just seen a ghost. She was pointing to him and with her hand over her mouth. ...Pointing to him?  
  
'behind me'  
  
Gannon dropped and rolled to the side. There it was. Perfectly described by Kris.  
  
It was at least eight feet tall. It had dark black fur with long fleshy ears and a fleshy face that was dripping with teeth.  
  
'oh dear'  
  
It lunged for him, but Gannon dove to the side. Kris threw him a gun.  
  
"Kill it Kent, its from the company! Its a company agent!"  
  
Kent Gannon made the worst decision he could've possibly made. ...He listened to the psycho bitch. He squeezed and resqueezed the trigger as many times as it would fire. He unloaded the whole magazine and it fell to the floor dead.  
  
"I killed it. I killed it! Kris did you see-" He was interrupted by a flash of light and then another. He looked over and Kris was taking pictures of him and the gun and the now quickly disintegrating body.  
  
"You just made the worst decision possible, Gannon. And you flunked your little loyalty test."  
  
Gannon about choked.   
  
"You're company!!?"  
  
Kris had a evil grin.  
"Damn straight I'm company. You just killed Ramothith. He had been hiding in the base before you came for this test."  
  
"But I don't understand! Why? I've always been loyal to the company!"  
  
"Oh no, this was requested. By one Richard Nichols of the KY branch. He didn't think you were fit for the company and filled a form requesting this test. You didn't even report me like you should have done. Your twice time loser Gannon. This means your death."  
  
'oh dear'  
  
"Guyver!"  
After Gannon had heard those cursed words uttered by Kris, a blast thundered through the room. When the glare had cleared he saw a creature in Kris' place. It was red with what seemed like armored plates, it had one sharp antennae that curved backward and various metal and shiny orbs attached to it. Its eyes were cut up evilly at Gannon. A blast of air vented from its face. And then it spoke with an almost mechanical voice.  
"I knew you were going to fail from the first, Kent! You were just too susceptible to those little moral itches."  
  
It held out its arm and blade issued from it's forearm. Gannon could hear it hum and vibrate at a high frequency.  
  
Gannon threw the gun at the things head and bolted out the door. Light was failing and he ran.  
  
'Where the hell can I run from that thing?! The Helipad!!'  
  
He ran from the Helipad. But thought had no more initiated from his nerve pathways than the Archaeology building exploded and something raced out of it, headed dead for Gannon. He could hear it taunting him from behind.  
  
"You're gone Gannon no matter what you do!"  
  
He made it to the Helipad and slammed the gate behind him. He took out his bottle Marnier and chucked it behind him and it found it's mark right in the face of the creature.  
  
He started the engine and the blades began turning. He didn't know how to fly but he had the motivation to learn right here and now. He pulled up on the stick and flipped a few switches and it lifted off. The thing wasn't following even though Gannon was sure it could. In fact it was laughing.  
  
He check what must have been the gas gauge. Gannon got the joke now. It had about a half tank of gas. It probably couldn't even make it out of Antarctica... But how about fifty kilometers from the base? Looks like he was going to Jason's geographical anomaly.  
  
'To the fool who'll risk his life for it. Its amazing how doable risks are when don't have any other choice.'  
  
Gannon had no clue where he was, he couldn't even tell which way was up or weather he was going anywhere at all. He had been flying north for the past hour at least. The sun had gone down and his source of comparison was gone. He was low on gas, in fact empty. He pushed the controls forward and waited for tremendous crash. 


End file.
